Here’s another great question I got today about combining multiple filtration methods

on one aquarium (a reef system).  Here’s the question and my answer:

QUESTION:  “Warren did I understand you to say that you like to use multiple filtration methods on one aquarium? Like aJaubert plenum with a deep sand bed in the display tank with a mud filter refugium in the sump with return water flowing thru a uv. This is exactly what I would like to do on my new 135 gal reef tank. What are your thoughts on this combo???”

ANSWER:  So, to answer your question about if I like using multiple filtration methods on one aquarium, my answer is no – and I’ll explain.

Do I think it’s a good idea to use a Jaubert plenum in your exhibit tank with a mud filter refugium in the sump, along with a UV?  Yes that could work well.

Overall, my philosophy is that while there are many different methods or filtration formats for a successful reef tank, you generally want to pick one and stick with it.  In other words, you don’t want to install an algae scrubber, with a protein skimmer along with a living sponge filtration system and a UV sterilizer and a trickle filter and live rock (I think you get the idea).  The different components that are used for one method may counteract other component from a different method.  And what you end up with is a mess that doesn’t work, and has chronic water quality problems.

For example, a UV sterilizer would kill off any water borne bacteria and phytoplankton and would thus partly starve a living sponge filter.  Or using an aggressive protein skimmer with a living sponge filter system would not work, as the protein skimmer would starve the live sponge of its food source.

Or another example would be the use of bioballs/trickle filter in combination with an algae scrubber.  The bioballs/trickle filter would add to the chronic nitrate levels that the algae scrubber or refugium is designed to reduce.

So, yes it’s OK to combine a Jaubert plenum in the exhibit tank with a refugium/mud filter in the sump, along with a UV sterilizer.  Just don’t go overboard trying to install every known form of filtration into your system.

I’ve seen a public aquariums do this with their 1,000 gallon reef tank (this was years ago) and the exhibit was a nightmare to operate – plus it didn’t look anywhere near as good as it should have at the time.

Also, with your Jaubert plenum, you may likely find that depending on how large your calcium/magnesium demand is, that you may need to supplement for calcium and magnesium (alkalinity too).

I only have a little experience with Jaubert plenum systems, but did research them aggressively years ago when they began to become popular.  What are you hearing/learning about their effectiveness?

Leave a comment here and let me know what filtration method you are using and what your experience has been.

And keep the questions coming!

Technorati Tags: bioballs, Jaubert, mud system, plenum, reef tank, refugium, salt water aquarium, saltwater aquarium, U.V. sterilizer

I got into whitewater kayaking because I wanted to have fun. And yet it is inherently fraught with dangers. So my motto became “Safety first”. If you’re not safe, then someone’s going to get hurt, and then no one’s having fun. So if you put safety first, you can have fun.

So right now you might be thinking “Ok … so what does safety first have to do with keeping a saltwater aquarium? Well, instead of ‘safety first’, think avoiding problems. If you can, at the very least, avoid problems, then you are going to have a lot more fun. Would you like to know my secret to avoiding most problems?

Keep reading.

In fact – let’s face it – most problems are caused by us humans. Yes, the majority of problems (by far) are human error. Next in line is mechanical failure, and then, lastly is biological. Biological error is usually out of our control – for example where one fish all of a sudden begins harassing another or even kills it.

So the big question is what if you had a procedure to follow, that, when you followed it – you were all but assured of avoiding most problems. I mean, I’m talkin’ preventing 95% of the problems that come with keeping an aquarium – period. Do I have your attention?

Ok, here’s my secret. I use a ‘check-in and check-out’ procedure. I treat my tanks like a patient in the hospital. We’ve all seen the shows on T.V., like E.R.. Whenever a doctor comes on shift, the first think they do is they do “rounds”. This is where they go around and check all patients, and confirm that all equipment is operating correctly, and that all vital signs are normal, etc. (I’m not a doctor). And just before the go off shift, the do rounds again. Here, again, they make sure all equipment is operating properly, that all vital signs are normal, etc.. You get the idea.

CHECK IN and CHECK OUT is a routine procedure – a check list – that you do at the beginning and end of each time you do any work on your aquarium. And when it is followed, nothing is missed and often you catch something you forgot to turn off, or a valve that was set wrong, or a pump that was off, or a tank that was still filling, or a leak, or a water level that isn’t right – you get the idea. I can’t tell you how many times I have been interrupted in the wee hours of the morning and called to go to a customer’s tank (we use computer monitors that call our cell phones), only to find a problem that was not caught during checkout – because aquarist did not follow the CHECK OUT list.

So, imagine, you set aside an hour or two to work on your tank. You go about fragging corals, cleaning glass, doing a water change, changing GFO (ferric oxide – removes phosphate – Rowaphos is the best for this), culling algae from your refugium, etc..

But you didn’t begin by going thru your CHECK IN procedure and check list, so you didn’t discover that your R.O. unit was leaking (Revers Osmosis filter – purifies tap water). You went about having your fun with your tank for two hours and now that it’s time to leave, you go to get some Reverse Osmosis water to top off your tank and now you discover the leak. But this is a whole project all by itself, and you have to meet your family for dinner in 25 minutes. Had you gone through the CHECK IN procedure when you started, you would have found the leak at the beginning and had plenty of time to fix it. You get the idea.

How’d you like to get your hands on the CHECK IN/CHECK OUT sheet that we use? Submit a comment and be sure to include your email address and I’ll send it to you. In fact, if you would like me to, I’ll do a video going over the entire CHECK IN/CHECK OUT procedure and put it up here on the blog. Just post a comment below, and let me know if you’d like to see that video.

And if you’d like to be notified of new videos and articles, just subscribe to our newsletter (upper right corner of the blog).

Technorati Tags: "check in", "check out", leak, monitor, problem prevention, problem solving, refugium